Columbia Central working on offensively strong squad

It is almost here; that game Tennesseans think about 365 days of the year.

Football is in the air and Columbia Central’s team is hard at work preparing for the new season.

A cluster of purple helmets gleam in the light on a warm Wednesday at Central’s practice field as the Lions run through plays as the coaches observe.

“We have got a pretty good feeling about the kids.” Columbia Central head coach Howard Stone said. “They are working hard. We have got a few missing because of vacations and camps for this and some at work but we are going to get those things straightened out.”

Two guys that Stone is looking to help lead the team as seniors are his linemen who play both ways Stephen Prinzo and Eriq Hampton.

“I feel like offensively and defensively we are going to be really strong up front,” Hampton said. “We have got a lot of new faces and a lot of effort.”

Hampton has earned a starting job with the Lions and the approval of Stone by his offseason work ethic.

“Hampton had a great winter and he had a great summer,” Stone said. “He missed one day this summer. He has worked extremely hard and you can see it in his physique that he has gotten bigger and stronger.”

The effort hasn’t just been with the players but the coaches too.

“The coaches care a lot this year,” Prinzo said. “They are just really putting a lot into it. Spending a lot of hours on film when they need it and just putting together our offense.”

With the season just a few weeks away, the Columbia Central offense looks poised to be the catalyst for a team that finished with a disappointing 4-6 record in 2013.

“Right now I feel like our biggest strength is on the offensive side of the ball because of the people that we have chosen to put up on the offensive side like Prinzo at center,” Stone said.

For Prinzo, his senior year is also his final chance to face rival Tullahoma, a team that beat the Lions 38-24 last season.

“I’m looking forward to playing Tullahoma, Shelbyville, Marshall County because usually they are all good games,” Prinzo said. “I hate Tullahoma.”

Hampton also sides with Prinzo on Tullahoma being the biggest rivalry making the October 3 meeting at Lindsey Nelson Stadium all the more meaningful.

“I don’t like them,” Hampton said “I just go out there and I love playing against them. Even though a lot of people say Spring Hill is our big rival, I see it more as Tullahoma.”

Part of the importance of the summer practices, is the two Columbia linemen get to work on valuable conditioning.

“If you don’t have the conditioning and you go into overtime, your body just dies,” Prinzo said. “You can’t do anything. Someone comes in not experienced; you can lose the game off of that.”

Another side of that is preparing the young players to be ready to fill in when a starter goes down.

“It’s extremely important because last year we had a lot of injuries so if one of us goes down we have got to have somebody to take our spot,” Hampton said. “It may not always be an upperclassman there to take your spot so you have got to have freshman and sophomores ready.”

Next week Columbia Central hits the road to take part in some passing camps at Lincoln County on Monday followed by facing a couple of Alabama schools in Hazel Green and Buckhorn on Wednesday.

Preparation is key for a team looking to return to state championship glory like the Lions who tasted it back in 2010 so Columbia Central is doing just that.

Rules for posting comments

Comments posted below are from readers. In no way do they represent the view of Stephens Media LLC or this newspaper. This is a public forum.

Comments may be monitored for inappropriate content but the newspaper is under no obligation to do so. Comment posters are solely responsible under the Communications Decency Act for comments posted on this Web site. Stephens Media LLC is not liable for messages from third parties.

IP and email addresses of persons who post are not treated as confidential records and will be disclosed in response to valid legal process.

Do not post:

Potentially libelous statements or damaging innuendo.

Obscene, explicit, or racist language.

Copyrighted materials of any sort without the express permission of the copyright holder.

Personal attacks, insults or threats.

The use of another person's real name to disguise your identity.

Comments unrelated to the story.

If you believe that a commenter has not followed these guidelines, please click the FLAG icon below the comment.